A Safe Estate

A Safe Estate written by William Henry Davies

New Poems (1907)

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If I hear Robin sing in mirth,
I for no company shall pine;
Millions of souls, indeed! On earth -
I know two only, his and mine.
I like Red Robin, he doth draw
More close than many of my kin;
The last face yestere'en I saw,
His first this morn came peeping in;
For him my curtain is half drawn,
To follow on the look of Morn.

He who loves Nature truly, hath
His wealth in her kind hands; and it
Is in safe trust until his death,
Increasing as he uses it;
'Tis proof 'gainst water, thief, and flame;
He'll not lay wild hands on his life,
As one who, in his health and prime,
Lets out his blood with a sharp knife,
When of ten ships but nine returned,
Or out of houses ten one burned.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.